CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Pegasus

 Xiumin leaned over Lay’s still body and let his finger probe the wound, gently stabbing the soft flesh that seemed to have stopped rotting. With his mouth open and his eyes wide, he peeled back more of Lay’s clothes to check if the poison had spread any further but it seemed to be contained for now.

“Stop touching it.” Lay managed to croak out between long breaths. The feeling of cool air filling his lungs made him feel much better, in fact, he realised his mind felt clearer and there was less pain. His body no longer had random heat flushes and he felt less scattered – there was strength in his muscles even though he could only exert very little force.

Xiumin tapped Baekhyun on the arm so that his brother would pay attention, “Who am I?”

Lay opened his eyes very slowly and screwed them shut again when light flooded into them too quickly. On his second attempt the vision of Xiumin pointing at himself and Baekhyun and D.O. leaning over him almost made him laugh. He didn’t, of course, afraid the wound would tear but he smiled.

“From left to right. Xiumin, Baekhyun, Kyungsoo.” Lay whispered, “I’m Yixing.”

“He’s not hallucinating.” D.O. stated, “and he remembers my full name.”

“How are you feeling?” Baekhyun asked and Lay nodded.

“I feel… better. Is that supposed to happen?” Lay asked quietly.

“Do you… by any chance… remember…” Xiumin began but both Baekhyun and D.O. pinched him at the same time.

“Remember what?” Lay was more awake now, eyes drifting from one face to another and they all looked like they’d been caught red-handed.

D.O. was the first to speak after he had swallowed hard, “Last night.”

“Yah! Kyungsoo!” Baekhyun turned around to scold him but Lay cut in before Baekhyun could shout his list of profanities.

“What happened last night?” Lay tried to sort through his memory but all he remembered was having had a dream where he fed on the blood of a unicorn – it was a rather real dream. There was lots of fighting but in the dream, he healed completely and he didn’t want to tell them that – he didn’t want to give any of them false hope.

When they realised that Lay had wiped out the memory of having attacked Jaehwa, they decided unanimously that it was better left that way. Lay was already injured and though the poison had stopped spreading and he appeared to be much better, they didn’t want to burden him because for all they knew, the poison was still in his body. How long it would cease to activate, no one knew.

“Nothing.” Baekhyun pressed his lips together and patted his brother’s good shoulder as a gesture of support, “Get some rest.”

Lay wanted to ask but he was still tired and when they all began to file out of the tent, there was nothing he could do. He thought hard about what had happened the previous night but there was nothing – just a huge blank inside his mind.

 After they had exited the tent, D.O. Baekhyun and Xiumin joined their fellow brothers who sat outside under the shade of a large tree, getting just enough sun for comfort. Jaehwa sat outside with them as Soojung had no choice but to stay inside the tent - under the given circumstances, no one wanted either of the two girls near each other.

Jaehwa had been lying on her back soaking up in the warmth of the sun’s rays, listening to the boys speak in muted voices when she heard the trio exit the tent. Upon their arrival, she sat up, propping herself on her elbows to watch them settle gracefully into the circle. After a moment of debating whether to ask or not, Jaehwa decided that she should, “How is he?”

“He’s better.” D.O. nodded, spinning around to face the girl, “No hallucinations and the poison seems to have stopped from spreading.”

“Really?” Jaehwa asked with wide-eyes – the thought of her blood having done him some good suddenly made her more relieved. At least, she had made a worthy sacrifice.

“Does he remember?” Sehun’s voice was like ice, splintering and shattering any happiness that had just stirred inside of Jaehwa. His voice sounded fierce and she tried not to let it get to her but it did, it made her feel guilty. He made her feel… dirty.

“No.” Xiumin shook his head, “He doesn’t remember anything that happened last night.”

Jaehwa didn’t know what to think about that – she didn’t know if she was more upset or more thankful. On one hand she wanted Lay to make it clear to Sehun and to all of them that whatever happened last night had been out of some magical force that had possessed him – it wasn’t an act of love or lust or anything like that. Yet on the other hand, she didn’t want her relationship to become awkward with Lay because what happened last night had definitely bruised her trust for him.

For a moment, her eyes drifted to monitor Sehun’s response on the far side of the circle, but she saw nothing. He was completely blank and she hated that – she hated it more than if he just lashed out at her because at least then, she’d know that he cared but he didn’t. He was calm and cold in a way that made her feel self-conscious. In her mind, his silence morphed into a gesture of judgement – one that set her below him and below Soojung.

She chewed her lip nervously and wondered if he knew that Lay had forced himself on her; that in his possessed state, his strength had doubled. There was no way she could have fought against him – not with her fighting abilities anyway. Without another word, she jumped up onto her feet, dusting any dust from her hands before she rubbed her palms over her jeans.

She needed to get away from the group but before she could even excuse herself, Sehun was on his feet. She watched as he walked towards her with a cold and hard stare and she waited expectantly but he simply brushed past her. They barely touched shoulders as he walked beside her into the tent behind and she was left flustered.

She sighed and shook her head. She couldn’t tell whether she was avoiding Sehun or if he was avoiding her anymore. On top of that, she couldn’t help but feel, her coldness towards him had backfired. His actions all pointed to the fact that he no longer wanted to be near her or talk to her or have anything to do with her. It was just like before – exactly the same, as though nothing between them had changed; as though time ran on a loop and she was caught in a blizzard that saw no end.

 In the days that followed, Jaehwa continued to dream of the unicorn and it became an almost daily routine that it woke her from her sleep, draining her of her energy. Lay’s condition remained stable for now but Jaehwa could make no assessment because she hadn’t gone out of her way to talk to him or see him yet.

It was in the wee hours of the third morning after the incident with Lay, that they reached a small lake area just behind the school grounds. From afar they could already make out the humble, old-fashioned brick buildings that were protected behind rusting iron-wrought gates. They decided to camp beside the lake for the morning since it was a Sunday and Soojung seemed rather tired.

At the decision, Soojung made no protest and voiced no opinion and